Jessica Chakowa

After my French Baccalauréat, I completed a Master’s degree in Information and Communication at Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis (France). I then developed a strong interest in teaching and completed several professional trainings in education and taught at Lycée Labourdonnais in Mauritius for six years, before migrating to Australia in 2009. In preparation for my arrival in Australia, I completed an online Diploma for Teaching French as a Foreign Language at Université Michel de Montaigne (Bordeaux).

Upon my arrival in Australia, I taught at many language institutions, including Alliance Française de Melbourne, at Caulfield Junior College (French section), RMIT and Monash University. In 2011, I moved to Perth to take the position of Teaching Coordinator at Alliance Française de Perth where I delivered training for teachers, created new classes, conducted official language tests and taught French at various levels.

Back in Melbourne in 2012, I returned to Monash University and took over the coordination of French Introductory. Being exposed to a great variety of students with different needs, I started to investigate ways to enhance students’ learning experience with the help of technology. I implemented an online interactive platform to allow students to consolidate their learning beyond the classroom. This became the subject of my PhD in Applied Linguistics at Monash University (2014-2016).

I continue to hold a strong interest in e-learning and I have conducted several projects in that field, in collaboration with the Faculty of Information and Technology (Monash University) for the creation of an application using Artificial Intelligence to support language learning, University of Warwick (UK) to develop a standalone French for Business online course and Université de la Réunion (France) to enrich students’ experience by developing interactive activities and conducting online tutoring via video conference.